The Three Fold Land
by Sey'nandri
Summary: The Tuatha'an and Aiel. As different as two humman races can be. But both are capable of love. So what happens when an Aiel and Tuatha'an do just that and fall in love? First WoT fic so go easy on me. R&R please!
1. The Lost Ones

Dueljewl: This is my first WoT fic so don't go too hard on me.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~ Chapter One ~~ ~ The Lost Ones ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The dry, dusty wind of the Three Fold Land whipped the veil of Lathes shoufa, pressing it against his sun-darkened face. Dirt stuck to his dry, cracked lips and beat against his cadin'sor, the cut identifying him for a Rahien Sorei, a Dawn Runner, of the Stones River sept of the Goshien Aiel. Next to him his near-brother, Daelin, of the Black Rock sept of the Shaarad Aiel, sat back on his heels, idly playing cats cradle with a piece of string.  
  
Together they watched the horizon for the unlikely intruder, guarding the Three Fold Land from unwanted visitors.  
  
"Scud duty again." He commented to Daelin, leaning forward over his short spear.  
  
Daelin nodded in agreement, folding the string up and rising fluidly.  
  
"If we're lucky, we might find some lost treekillers or Tuath'an."  
  
Lathes lips curled into a disgusted sneer as he thought of the Lost Ones, bound to touch no weapon like the gai'shain. There was no ji' in running from your enemy; only cowardice.  
  
Daelin tensed suddenly, drawing the veil of his shoufa up and crouching low, a short spear grasped in his hand. Lathe followed suite, dropping to the ground silently, lifting himself up only enough to see over the skyline and draw his veil across his face. At first all he saw was the red sky, tinged red and purple with the setting sun.  
  
There.  
  
One . no two people, one leaning heavily on the other. Lathe stiffened slightly, waiting for the two strangers to come closer.  
  
Tuath'an.  
  
The glaringly vivid colors of their clothes could belong to no one else. Lathe cursed under his breath, moving sinuously to the approaching intruders. Daelin, as always, followed close behind, scanning the land for any attacks that might come from behind. They melted silently into the land, waiting for the wagon to come closer.  
  
As they drew nearer, Lathe could make out the shape of a young man - possibly younger than himself - supporting a young woman with the same pitch-black hair and pale white skin, tinged slightly red with sunburn. The two looked exactly the same, as if they were mirror reflections. The girl seemed to be suffering from the sun sickness, as the wetlanders often did.  
  
Kail held onto Keita desperately, not willing to stop until they reached some sort of shelter. He had always been told that the Tuath'an were allowed passage across the Three Fold Land; he just didn't know how far that small hospitality would last.  
  
"Just a little bit further, Keita." He pleaded, noticing how shallow her breathing was becoming.  
  
She moaned silently, her head rolling lifelessly back and forth in nightmares from the sun sickness.  
  
"So cold," she whispered, shaking softly, "I'm so cold Kail."  
  
Kail bit his lip in silent thought, trying to think of a way to cool her down. They had been separated from the wagons for three days now and hadn't seen any water except for that in their leather water skins, and that long gone.  
  
Out of nowhere, two shapes parted from the dry ground taking the form of men so tall they could only be Aiel. Kail bit down harder on his lip, his head swimming from lack of water and shade. If the Aiel attacked, the only thing to do was run. But he couldn't run; with Keita like she was, she wouldn't last an hour in their hands. He slowed his pace, watching them warily. They might mean them no harm, but that was unlikely at best.  
  
Lathe and Daelin circled the two Lost Ones slowly, examining each of them closely. The girl wouldn't make it another day without the help of the Wise Ones; the sickness had her too firmly for anything but their herbs to heal her. The young man, most likely a first-brother, was starting to show the same signs of severity.  
  
"It seems the Lost Ones are more lost than usual." Daelin jeered, his short spear tapping the ground as he circled clockwise.  
  
Lathe, circling counter clockwise and also tapping a spear against the ground, knocking it against Daelin's when he passed, nodded his agreement, eyeing the two Tuath'an suspiciously; he did not trust these people who would rather run away than help protect their fellow members.  
  
"Caught in the sun, their soft wetlander flesh burns easily." Lathe assented. "The Three Fold Land is not easy on those who wander into it aimlessly."  
  
"We didn't wander here on purpose." The young man snapped, surprising both of the Aiel. "We were separated from our wagons." He continued.  
  
He looked up at Lathe, a mixture of fear, hate, and plea swimming in his eyes. Lathe was startled by the hopelessness he saw there, and at the same time the fear made him abhor this man who would run if they attacked instead of standing his ground and fighting like any real man.  
  
"Please," he begged, looking alternately from Lathe to Daelin and back again. "My sister needs help. We'll do anything; just help her. Please."  
  
Daelin looked across the two of them to Lathe, hesitation and indecision playing across his face. The last thing Lathe wanted to do would be to help these Lost Ones, but they had no choice. To leave them here to die in the hot sun of the Three Fold Land would give them such an outrageous amount of 'toh that the only way to make it up to them would be to take the gai'shain white for the rest of their lives.  
  
Lathe sighed loudly, placing his short spear with the rest and lifting the girl from the young man's grip easily, as though taking a toy from a sleepy child. Daelin shot Lathe a glare at leaving him with the heavy one put lifted the strange Lost One onto his back easily. Lathe did the same with the girl and started off, running as fast he could and not jostle the girl too much. Daelin kept up easily, though slightly behind to guard from the rear, Lathe taking the lead as usual.  
  
So much for uninteresting scud duty.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dueljewl: Hope this wasn't /too/ much of a horrible first shot at WoT fanfics. Anyway, if you liked it please review. I need four reviews before I publish the next chapter. R&R! ^_^ 


	2. Tel'aran'rhiod

Dueljewl: So technically I haven't gotten the four reviews I asked for, but I didn't want to wait to get them. Big thanks to both of you who did review my story - it was motivation to write the second chapter.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~ Chapter Two ~~ ~ Tel'aran'rhiod ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Keita stood in the middle of a dry, deserted place she could only describe as a village. What looked like clay buildings of every size were placed in a circle surrounding the sheer rock walls of a tall, hollowed out plateau of black rock that seemed to glisten in the bright sun. Wave after wave of heat hammered against her, the red ground burning threw the thin soles of her traveling boots.  
  
Abandoned toys shifted places every few seconds, not left in the same place long enough to establish a permanent position in Tel'aran'rhiod. Every now and then a person would burst into the dream only to disappear a few seconds later. A screaming child fell from the top of a roof, only to vanish seconds before she hit the ground.  
  
Keita shifted her stance uneasily, from both the heat and a sense of confusion that overwhelmed her. This wasn't right; her presence was too strong here.  
  
Where was Kail? Why wasn't she cold anymore? Questions swirled around in her tired mind making her dizzy. She stumbled slightly, righting herself just before she fell.  
  
"What are you doing here?" the angry, worn voice of a woman snapped from behind her.  
  
Keita snapped around in the direction of the voice, her vision spinning from turning too fast. When everything cleared, she was able to see a tall woman with light green eyes and bright yellow hair streaked white. She wore a brown, bulky skirt and flowing white blouse, her arms and neck covered in jewelry made from ivory, gold, and silver. A brown scarf was at her temples, keeping the longhair from her face.  
  
"I - I -" she started, stumbling over her words in the forceful presence of this woman.  
  
"Well? Out with it already child." The strange woman snapped, taking a few steps forward and scowling heavily.  
  
"I don't know. I didn't mean to come here so strongly. Please, where is Kail, my twin brother?" Keita rushed, her voice hoarse from nerves.  
  
The old woman blinked in surprise at the response, taking yet another step forward. Her scowl began fading into a wary frown. Keita stepped backwards slowly, unnerved by this strange woman she found herself confronted by.  
  
"I won't hurt you child." The old woman responded, her tone softening and the frown fading. "But what would two Lost Ones be doing in the Three Fold Land? Were there is one of you there are usually twenty more. But the two Rahien Sorei that were scouting only found two."  
  
"Two of us? So Kail did make it?"  
  
"I never said that child. I said only that they found two of the Lost Ones, both suffering from the sun sickness, and brought them to Black Rock hold."  
  
Keita shook her head, confusion and hope mixing in her mind and making her vision blur.  
  
"Rahien Sorei?"  
  
"The Dawn Runners. Child - "  
  
The woman cut off as Keita sank slowly to the ground, grabbing her head in pain. The woman and houses began to spin, mixing together and slowly dimming in color. Blinding white light flashed through her head and colors danced behind her eyes.  
  
"Not again." She moaned silently, rocking back and forth. "Please . not again."  
  
The colors grew brighter until they covered Keita's vision and were all she could see. Keita rocked back and forth, whimpering silently and holding her head tightly, as if it were about to rip apart. The old woman reached out to grasp Keita's shoulders when the girl started to disappear. Her body became see through, slowly fading into a white mist and dissolving into the air.  
  
The woman reached to grab Keita mentally, trying to keep the girl in one spot. But her efforts failed and in a few seconds, where Keita had been sitting was only the dry red dirt of the ground. Soon the old woman disappeared too, returning to another part of Tel'aran'rhiod, leaving the Black Circle hold of Tel'aran'rhiod deserted once more.  
  
Wise One Sharra floated in the dark void, a pair of non-existent eyes surrounded by the dreams of thousands. She searched anxiously for the Lost One's dream, moving through the black emptiness without actually moving, the pinpricks of light flying past her. Never before had she seen what had happened to the girl the Rahien Sorei had brought to Black Circle Hold.  
  
A strange mixture of sympathy and loathing churned in her stomach as she searched futilely for the Lost One. Already she knew it was hopeless and all she could do was watch over Keita's body in the waking world. Even using need would be of no help and Sharra was loath to use the one chance she would have on something hopeless.  
  
Disappointed and agitated, Wise One Sharra closed her eyes and concentrated on Black Circle hold. Never had she been able to transfer from the void of dreams without closing her eyes and focusing on where she wanted to be.  
  
Though completely aware of the futility of returning, she wished to be comforted by familiar sights. She opened her eyes and was instantly greeted by the well-known buildings and the rock walls that encircled and protected Black Circle hold. As she looked around, she realized she was standing in the same place Keita had disappeared. Nervously she stepped back, not wanting to touch the ground were the Lost One had dissolved.  
  
Almost instantly the air took shape, seizing her body with invisible bonds and leaving her defenseless. Pain ripped through her head, increasing every second. She writhed in the shackles that held her, screaming from the pressure in her head. Her back arched slowly, the bonds stretching and moving as her body bent. As suddenly as it had started it stopped and she dropped to the ground, shuddering from the previous agony. Quickly she left Tel'aran'rhiod and returned to her own body and safety.  
  
The silent stranger watched coldly from the shadows as the woman retreated. The stranger cursed under its breath, moving slowly towards the shadows and away from the world of dreams. 


End file.
